Belt-shifter



(No Model.) 7 7 2 Sheets-Sheet G. G. ROBERTS.

BELT SHIFTER.

No. 425,459. Patented Apr. 15, 1890.

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2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

BELT SHIFTBR.

(No Model No. 425,459. Patented Apr. 15. 1890.

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UNITED STATES PATENT EEicE.

GEORGE C. ROBERTS, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TO THE TROY LAUNDRY MACHINERY COMPANY, OF TROY, NEIV YORK.

BELT-SHIFTER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 425,459, dated April 15, 1890.

Application filed October 8 1889. Serial No. 326,308, (No model.)

To all whom iv may concern.-

Be it known that I, GEORGE C. ROBERTS, of Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Belt-Shifters; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full,

, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being bad to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

This invention relates to improvements in belt-shifting devices for use upon washing machines and in other similar situations where it is desired to reverse the motion of the moving parts of a machine at regular intervals.

The invention consists in the matters hereinafter described, and pointed out in the appended claims.

In the accompanying drawings, illustrating my invention, Figure 1 is a side view of an apparatus embodying the same applied to the end of a washing-machine of that class, consisting of a cylindric exterior shell or casing provided with an interior oscillating drum. Fig. 2 is an end elevation of the part shown in Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a detail section taken upon line 3 3 of Fig. 2. Fig. 4. is a perspective view of the cap for the outer shaft-bearing. Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the outer end of the arm which supports the outer end of the shaft. Fig. 6 is a perspective view of the adjustable frame which sustains the main. working part of the device.

As illustrated in said drawings, A is the exterior casing or shell of a washing-machine, and A the main shaft thereof, which passes through the shell and supports a perforated oscillating cylinder (not shown) arranged in a manner heretofore common and well known.

A is a gear-wheel attached to the shaft A outside of the head of the machine, by which oscillatory movement is given to said shaft.

15 is asha-ft arranged parallel with the shaft A, mounted at one end in abea-ring upon the head of the machine A and at its opposite end in a bearing 1) upon the end of the bracket 13, which is attached to the head of the machine in the manner illustrated. Said shaft 13 is provided at a point adjacent to the head of the machine with a pinion 13 (shown in dotted lines in Fig. 2,) which intermeshes with the gear-wheel A upon the shaft A.

C is a fixed pulley attached to the shaft B, and C C are loose pulleys mounted to turn freely on said shaft at opposite sides of said fixed pulley C, and C C are driving-belts on said pulleys. Upon said shaft B, between the said fixed and loose pulleys and the outerbearing I), is located a sleeve D,which is attached to the hub of the loose pulley C and is provided with a worm D. The sleeve D is loose on the shaft and turns with the loose pulley C It follows from this construction that the said worm is driven by said loose pulley, and in order that said worm shall be constantly driven, even when the drivingbelt C is driving the fixed pulley, said belt is made a little wider than the other belt C so that the edge of the said belt will lap slightly over the pulley C and thus keep the same in motion at all times.

The sleeve D is conveniently connected with the hub of the loose pulley C by means of a clutch-conn ection (l, as clearly shown in the drawings, Fig. 1. Said worm D intermeshes with a wornrwheel E, which is located above the shaft D, with its axis of rotation at right angles with the said shaft. Said wormwheel is mounted upon a frame F, Fig. 6, which sustains the principal operative parts of the device. Said frame F carries the slidebar and belt shifting arms or loops thereon which engages the belts, and to enable said frame to be moved or shifted in its angular position to correspond with the location of the belts it is pivotally sustained in such manner that it may be adjusted in angular position by turning about the axis of the shaft B. For this purpose said frame is provided witha socket F, Figs. 1, 3, and 6, adapted to fit over or embrace a tubular inward extension I) of the outer shaftbearing b, Fig. 4. Said socket F is split at one point and provided with a clamp-bolt f,by which it may be closed against the extension I) for holding the frame F in a desired angular position. Said cylindric extension I) is conveniently fixed upon or integral with the cap b of the said IOO - left.

part with two guide-apertures f f, Fig 6, through which is inserted a horizontal sliding -bar G, arranged parallel with the shaft-B.

Said bar is provided at its end adjacent to the fast and loose pulleys with-oppositely-extended arms G G at the outer ends of which are attached adjustable loops g g, which engage the driving-belts C G H is a cam-plate, which is located adjacent to and parallel with the worm-wheel E and is supported by and adapted to move horizontally with the slide-bar G, and also has a shifting movement upon the bar in a direction transverse to the latter. To secure this movement of the said cam-plate H, the latter is provided at its upper part with two horizontally-arranged plates or arms 71. h, which engage the upper and lower sides of the slidebar G, which latter is provided with a transverse guide-slot 9 adapted to receive one ofthe arms 7t. Said cam-plate is provided on its face adjacent to the worm-wheel with two opposite projections or ribs H H, forming cam-surfaces 72. 77, arranged at right angles to the face of the plate and adapted for engagement with a stud or pin 6, which is secured in and projects from the face of the worm-wheel E. Said cam-surfaces 7?? 7L2 are arranged horizontally opposite each other, and are at a greater distance apart at their upper and lower ends than at their middle parts. This construction enables the pin or stud e to act upon the cam-surface with the effect of moving the cam-plate in the same manner when the stud is turning in either direc-v tion, the said pin operating upon the upper right-hand ca m-surface and lower left-hand cam-surface when the worm-wheel is turned to the right, and acting upon the upper left-hand cam-surface and lower right-hand cam-surface when said wheel is turning toward the Said cam-surfaces are adapted for engagement with and disengagement from the said pin or stud e by'a bodily movement of the cam-plate toward and from the wormwheel E, this movement being afforded by the sliding of the cam-plate H laterally upon the slide-bar G, as hereinbefore described. Such bodily movement of the cam-plate, therefore, enables the machine to be stopped andstarted when desired, the releasing of the cam-plate from the pin atthe time both belts are on the loose pulleys obviously affecting the stoppage of the machine. At the side margins of the cam-plate, exterior to said cam-surfaces, said cam-plate is provided with two fiat plates or wings H H which are flush with the edges of the flanges H H, and which by striking the end of the stud e serve to prevent the cam-plate from being thrust toward the worm-wheel E when said stud is outside of the side flanges.

I is a hand-lever by which the cam-plate is moved, said hand-lever being pivot-ally connected at its lower end with the frame '1 by means of a swiveled oscillating stud 2',

' mounted on a lug F on the hub F, Fig. 6.

Said swivel-stud 2' is provided with an.aper-. ture head or eye, through which'is inserted a pivot-pin i, by which the lower end'of the lever I is connected with the said stud.- Said lever I is provided at its upper end with a handle I, and at a point between the handle and its lower end is connected with the camplate H in such manner that when the said lever is swung outwardly or inwardly upon the pivot i the cam-plate will be moved with I it toward or from the worm-wheel E. The

connecting device for this purpose herein .8 connected atits outer end with the hand-lever by means of a pivot-pin 1 passing through,

shown consists of a stud 1' in the cam-plate J, pivoted at the upper end of the lever by,

means of a pivot j, located near the handle thereof, said detent being arranged to extend horizontally over the top of the camplate, and having a downturned end or arm j adapted to engage with the slide-bar G. Said detent has an upwardly-extending,arm or handle J arranged in such position that-it may be easily grasped by the hand at the time of actuatingthe lever l. The downturned end j of said detent J is adapted to engage the rear face or edge of the bar G" when the cam-plate is interlocked with the"- stud c, and to engage a hole 3' in the barjG when said cam-plate is in position remote from the worm-wheel.

The detent J is preferably thrown downwardly or into position to engage the slidev a bar G by means of a spring (herein shown-as having the form of a spiral spring 3' located between the upper end .or handle I of the lever I and the handle J of the detent.

K is a locking plate or bar arrangedv hori I'IO zontally adjacent to the upper end of the le-- ver I and parallel with the slide-bar G. Said plate K is herein shown as supported by:

means of arms K, K which are secured to. 7

the casting F, preferably at a point over the .5;

guide-apertures f f of said casting. Said plate K is provided on its inner edge. with a central notch 70 adapted for engagement by the lever I whenthe cam-plate is at the center of its stroke and the belts are held on the two loose pulleys. depth,.or, in other words, its outer wall is so located'that when the hand-lever I is brought fully into the notch the detent J will engage the hole 3' in the slide-bar G. It follows from this construction th atthe said hand-lever cannot be locked in its outward position so asto hold the cam-plate H free from the stud e of entered the said notch 75.

of the said notch k is to lock and hold the Said notch is made of such hand-lever Ifrom being shifted in a direction to move the slide-barGat the time the belts are on the loose pulleys and the machine not running. At either side of the notch 75 said plate K is provided with two bearing surfaces or edges 7t arranged parallel with the bar G and located at such distance from said bar that when the lever I is swung outwardly into contact with the same the cam-plate H will be free from the stud e, so that the said camplate may be moved independently of the stud. It follows that when the hand-lever is thrown against either of the said surfaces is is it may be moved along the same by hand for the purpose of shifting the slide-bar G and the belts.

At the outer ends of the surfaces k it" are located shoulders k 71: arranged at such distance from the central notch k as to arrest the movement of the hand-lever I before said cam-plate is shifted sidewise a distance sufficient to bring its external side edges past the stud c. The parts or surfaces 10 of said plate K outside of said shoulders k k are located at such distance from the bar G as to prevent said lever I being thrown out far enough to disengage the cam-plate H from the stud e. Owing to the presence of said surfaces 75" 70 therefore, the cam-plate can neverbe released from the stud, except when the hand-lever is between the shoulders 76 Z9, and it becomes necessary to throw the said hand-lever inwardly a distance sufiicient to engage the cam-plate with the stud 6 before said cam-plate can be carried or moved sidewise from its central positiona distance sufficient to bring the said stud e outside of or beyond its side margin. Said surfaces 76 k therefore, constitute a safety device to prevent the cam-plate ever being thrust inwardly when the stud e is outside of or beyond the flanges H. H, thereby preventing the breakage of the parts, which might result in case the machine were started with the stud 6 outside of the cam-plate.

The several parts of the shifting mechanism, by which the slide-bar G is automatically actuated, and the operation of the same, are

more fully described in a Separate applica tion for patent, Serial No. 318,382, filed July 23, 1889, and allowed September23, 1889.

The present application is intended to cover only the particular devices illustrated, by

which the frame F and the several operative parts on the belt-shifting apparatus may be moved or shifted in angular position to correspond with the location of the belts. As far as the present application is concerned, therefore, it is immaterial what kind of a device for actuating the belt-shifting arm or slide-bar is employed, the essential feature of the presentinvention consisting of the supporting-frame carrying parts of the beltshifting device and mounted upon a fixed sleeve, which is concentric with the axis of the belt-pulleys, so that the said several parts may turn or rotate about said central axis of the belt-pulleys to bring the loops or arms which engage the belts in any desired position, according to the direction in which the belts approach the beltpulleys.

I claim as my invention 1. The combination, with the shaft to be driven, fast and loose pulleys thereon, and driving-belts, of a belt-shifting bar or arm engaging said belts, a frame supporting said belt shifting bar, devices for actuating the bar mounted upon the frame, and an arm or bracket provided with a bearing for the shaft, said bearing being formed partially in the arm and partially by a separate cap, which cap is provided with a cylindric extension concentric with the shaft and affordinga bearing for said frame, substantially as described.

2. The combination, with a shaft to be driven, fast and loose pulleys thereon, and driving-belts, of belt-shifting bar or arm engaging said belts, a frame supporting said belt-shifting bar, devices for actuating the bar mounted on the frame, and an arm or bracketprovided with a bearing for the shaft, said bearing being formed partially in the arm and partially by a separate cap, which cap is provided with a cylindric extension concentric with the shaft, the said frame being provided with a bearing-aperture and clamping device for securing the same upon said cylindric extension, substantially as described.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my invention I my signature in presence of two witnesses.

GEORGE C. ROBERTS.

itnesses:

C. CLARENCE PooLE, HARRY COBB KENNEDY. 

